Brothers and sisters, how fast do we respond to the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ? I want to share with you the following hadith:
🔵 There was a man who was eating with his left hand while in the presence of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. The Prophet said: ❝Eat with your right hand.❞
The man said: ❝I cannot do it.❞
The Prophet said: ❝May you not be able to do that.❞
Nothing prevented the man from doing so, but arrogance. He was no longer able to raise his hand to his mouth. [Sahih Muslim 2021]
This hadith mentioned that the man disrespected and refused to obey Prophet Muhammad ﷺ out of arrogance. Thus from that moment onwards, he was never able to lift his right hand to eat with it. This is an important lesson for us to not respond in arrogance towards the Qur’an, the hadith or the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
In comparison to that man, the companions’ pace towards fulfilling the commandments of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, and His Prophet ﷺ was very quick and immediate!
🔵 One day, when Prophet Muhammad ﷺ seated himself on the pulpit for the Friday prayer, he ﷺ made an announcement to the congregation: ❝Sit down.❞ At that moment, Ibn Mas’ud was not yet in the masjid, but when he heard Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ announcement to sit down, he immediately sat down which was at the door of the masjid. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ saw him, and said: ❝Come here, ‘Abd Allah ibn Mas’ud (meaning, enter and sit inside the masjid, o Ibn Mas’ud).❞ [Sahih Abi Dawud 1091]
Ibn Mas’ud, from his obedience to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, sat exactly when and where he heard the Prophet’s commandment. Indeed the companions were the greatest Muslims of this ummah. They responded to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, and Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in such an immediate manner.
Brothers and sisters, don’t be like those who take too long to respond to Allah, and His Prophet ﷺ. Don’t give excuses that we will do it after a year or two, or after marriage / after Hajj / after I’ve retired.
May Allah allow us, when we hear a commandment from an ayah of the Qur’an or a hadith, we say sami’na wa ata’na (i.e. we hear and we obey) – and then we fulfill the commandment right away, ameen.
#FollowTheSunnah
